AP U.S. Government and Politics provides a college-level, nonpartisan introduction to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. You will study U.S. foundational documents, Supreme Court decisions, and other texts and visuals to gain an understanding of the relationships and interactions among political institutions, processes, and behavior. You’ll also engage in disciplinary practices that require you to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments. In addition, you’ll complete a political science research or applied civics project.

COURSE UNITS

The AP U.S. Government and Politics course is organized around five units, which focus on major topics in U.S. government and politics:

Foundations of American Democracy

Interaction Among Branches of Government

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

American Political Ideologies and Beliefs; and

Political Participation

Foundational documents and Supreme Court cases are an integral part of the course and necessary for students to understand the philosophical underpinnings, significant legal precedents, and political values of the U.S. political system and may serve as the focus of AP Exam questions. The course requires study of:

9 foundational documents, including the U.S. Constitution

15 landmark Supreme Court cases

POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH OR APPLIED CIVICS PROJECT

The required project adds a civic component to the course. Through this project, you’ll explore how you can affect, and are affected by, government and politics throughout your life. The project might have you collect data on a teacher-approved political science topic, participate in a community service activity, or observe and report on the policymaking process of a governing body. You should plan a presentation that relates your experiences or findings to what you are learning in the course.

AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES

Practice 1: Apply political concepts and processes to scenarios in context